US-based biotech specialist Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to expand its Northumberland facility.

The company recently announced that it will be investing more than £39.8 million in its global bio-production capabilities to provide additional capacity for manufacturing single-use bio-process container (BPC) systems (used by bio-pharma companies around the world for drug development).

It intends to invest £9.5 million in its Cramlington facility.

Site director Nicole Aspinall said: “This year has been exceptional for us.

“The market is growing rapidly, and it is expected to continue to grow by double figures for the foreseeable future.

“This year, we have been expanding our teams across the site to add the capacity we need to support our customers.

“We also introduced a night shift, which has been really successful in getting up to speed with the growing demand in the market.”